I want to continue to use this list in the event javascript is disabled however with javaScript I would like to render the list as a multi-select drop down list. That is it only shows one item in the list until clicked and then will expand to show x items and provide scrolling, where I can select multiple elements as you would expect while holding shift or ctrl.

Edit Struts2 users, the selected answer will url encode with [] this causes issues in struts2 the fix however is very easy. Simply open jquery.multiSelect.js and search for "[]" and delete the one instance this is used in a string concatenation. I also am using jQuery 1.4.4 as opposed to the 1.3.2 which came bundled with it and everything works just fine.

Just starting jQuery I found all the proposed solutions useful but Bill N solution is very close to what I wanted visually, but really it is even I bit more 'cool' than I wanted (I mean the check boxes, I'd be fine with plain highlighted elements).
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QuaternionJan 20 '11 at 23:10

here is the link to all the demos of multi select menu using jquery
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user783969Jul 11 '11 at 18:22

For some ajax functionality I use $("#transactionType").val() ... Where "transationType is the multi select list... As soon as I apply the plugin I get the nice effect but .va() does not return a list of values. This could be my fault I substituted jquery-1.4.4.js for the one shipped with it jquery-1.3.2.js how do you get at the array of selected elements?
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QuaternionJan 20 '11 at 23:58

1

@Quaternion it's not documented, but in looking at the plugin source it looks like $("#transactionType").selectedValuesString() will return a comma separated list of selected values for you.
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Bill NJan 21 '11 at 5:01

I'd like it if the filter would allow me to select the top filtered element with the enter key, maybe it can but the demo didn't show that. This looks interesting and I might want to use it but currently I like that the jQuery MuiltiSelect's simplicity so it is still the winner until select by enter is the default behavior for that widget.
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QuaternionOct 21 '11 at 19:19

Also when the filter is active, if the up/down arrows could move into the option list that would be nice too.
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QuaternionOct 21 '11 at 19:22

Edit

Reread your question, you're not really looking for a multiple select... but a dropdown box that allows you to select multiple. Yeah, probably best to use a plugin for that or write it from the ground up, it's not a "quick answer" type deal though.